Nathan Chen | Page 1007 | Golden Skate

Nathan Chen

kmfee said:
I love the beauty and grace of his movement, his body control, the way he performs and feels the music.
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This is also how I fell for him 😊 Welcome!

Gilligan said:
Thank you for the music ideas! :) Would appreciate more ideas from you and anyone interested. I seem to recall Mozart would not be your first choice for him, so I'm extra grateful you came up with appealing options.

It would seem composing a linking piece is something music editors do at times. Another music editor (not one of the ones you listed above--I think he goes by the name skatingmusicguy or something like that?) who offers services to skaters mentioned he could do this if the skater wants to use two disparate pieces of music. Shae's music cutting joined the pieces of Desperado and Philip Glass smoothly, IMHO, so I would have confidence in her to avoid a truly jarring cut.
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Yeah Mozart was not my first choice back when we were talking about music choices, although I've actually been wanting him to skate to Mozart for two or three seasons now. Mozart's symphonic/chamber music strikes me as temperate and balanced and can be tricky to work into a program with emotional up-and-downs (not that I think those are requisites for a good program, but they might indeed be necessary for overall positive reception). While the operas are more dramatic by nature, I just haven't come across any programs using Mozart operas that I love so I'm not sure how that will go.

Regarding the Turkish March, I find its steady beats too regular to drive the program to an emotional climax. I would prefer something with accelerating tempo. Beyond opera finales and final movements of symphonies, the ending bit of opera overtures could also work well, such as that of the Magic Flute.

As slow movements go, I also really love the adagio of the Clarinet Concerto.
 
Many of Mozart’s 2nd movements are some of the most divinely beautiful music there is, and the legato makes them hugely skateable. Besides P/C’s Le Parc inspired FD, there’s also Usova/Zhulin’s number, using one of the few Mozart compositions in minor keys: https://youtu.be/xQ-paGb1EII
I can also see several opera overtures easily be used for skating, like this:

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If he were going for pure keyboard works, one of my favorites is Piano Sonata No.13 😍
 
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kmfee said:
hello everyone! I am new here although I have been lurking for a while. I'm obviously a big Nathan fan - I love the beauty and grace of his movement, his body control, the way he performs and feels the music. I have watched figure skating for leisure in the past but Nathan only recently made me learn more about skating itself, so I am very much not knowledgeable.

I was just popping in to share with you this story from twitter:


It shows to me how much Nathan and his skating touches people, to the point that his beautiful interpretation can be used as class material.
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Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m glad Nathan’s skating made such a powerful impression. Always nice to have new fans join us in celebrating how beautifully he moves and how he moves us. :)

There’s also an IG account with nice Nathan art here:
https://www.instagram.com/laboheme.21/

Nice Nathan art here as well:
https://www.instagram.com/kintsugisaikou/

A different Japanese artist, also very talented
https://www.instagram.com/makony

and this sweet picture
https://twitter.com/hanasakichitose/status/1414563374759747594

Thank you all for the updates and discussions. Thank you bonita for the kind words. It’s nice to know I can always catch up on everything just by reading this thread. Good to see Nathan thriving and doing good in the world as always. :)
 
skfan said:
Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m glad Nathan’s skating made such a powerful impression. Always nice to have new fans join us in celebrating how beautifully he moves and how he moves us. :)

There’s also an IG account with nice Nathan art here:
https://www.instagram.com/laboheme.21/

Nice Nathan art here as well:
https://www.instagram.com/kintsugisaikou/

A different Japanese artist, also very talented
https://www.instagram.com/makony

and this sweet picture
https://twitter.com/hanasakichitose/status/1414563374759747594

Thank you all for the updates and discussions. Thank you bonita for the kind words. It’s nice to know I can always catch up on everything just by reading this thread. Good to see Nathan thriving and doing good in the world as always. :)
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Welcome back, skfan!!
 
shine said:
Welcome back, skfan!!
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For a moment or two. ;) But thank you for the kind welcome.

Your mentioning Abduction from the Seraglio made me think of this program, Kovarikova & Novotny FS in the 1992 Olympics season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUhLVJQUFrE

I prefer it to the Usova/Zhulin program you linked previously. Perhaps because that particular Mozart piece, so unrelentingly minor key, is a bit too repetitive for me? Even though I like symphonies 25 and 40 and Requiem and Piano Concertos 20 and 24 and all the plaintive mourning from his operas. Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro... So much beautiful music to choose from, as you said.

Maybe Nathan should skate not just one but several Mozart programs! What are the odds that he’ll have a self-choreographed gala to Mozart for Plushenko’s show in Italy? ^_~


ETA had to correct the link. Oops. Also to clarify I'm not suggesting that music or that style of costuming. Just putting it out there as another program to Mozart music.
 
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^^Interesting, because I actually find U/Z's program much more interesting than K/N's program (also don't like the music cuts much) :p

Now I think about it, perhaps pure piano/piano concertos (especially parts with simpler orchestration) tend to lend themselves easily to modern/interpretive choreography, whereas operas, because of their thematic nature, would probably remain classical in interpretation and could easily look dated if not done well.

All the discussion would, of course, look a bit funny if Nathan isn't even skating to Mozart. But then that's never stopped us from talking about what we WOULD like him to skate to, anyway :biggrin:
 
shine said:
^^Interesting, because I actually find U/Z's program much more interesting than K/N's program (also don't like the music cuts much) :p

Now I think about it, perhaps pure piano/piano concertos (especially parts with simpler orchestration) tend to lend themselves easily to modern/interpretive choreography, whereas operas, because of their thematic nature, would probably remain classical in interpretation and could easily look dated if not done well.

All the discussion would, of course, look a bit funny if Nathan isn't even skating to Mozart. But then that's never stopped us from talking about what we WOULD like him to skate to, anyway :biggrin:
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I thought K/N music cut was not so bad, but then my standards aren't very high. From 1992 Olympics people seem to mostly talk about M/D's Liebestraum. K/N only get discussed as possibly robbed of bronze in Albertville. No one anointed their FS a masterpiece, far as I recall. I liked K&N's SP better than their FS that season. U/Z are masters of dance more so than K/N were masters of pairs IMHO, so of course they sold it better. I just preferred other U/Z programs, whereas Mozart was closer to the peak of K/N for me, maybe? Sorry off topic :slink:

As for all this being a pipe dream because he's not skating to Mozart... Dreams are dreams because they have nothing to do with reality, said an anime character, so why should we be fettered by the reality of a gazillion quads and judging and what not? ;)
 
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shine said:
I found Shawn Sawyer's Mozart Medley program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYxpzbavWkQ&t=94s

Don't know if I liked having all these different pieces being included in one program. Seemed rather incohesive. Would've probably been better if they just stuck to Requiem and Symphony No. 25 (note to Nathan's choreographer: more is not more :p)
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Thank you for that. Because it made me dream of Nathan showing off his mastery of footwork to A little night music.

As for Shawn, he's fab and Mozart is fab. But this is too much of a good thing, too many pieces for the time limit. Agree fewer pieces would have been better.

Still, far from the worst music cut we've heard. At least we get to hear Mozart. :)
 
skfan said:
Your mentioning Abduction from the Seraglio made me think of this program, Kovarikova & Novotny FS in the 1992 Olympics season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUhLVJQUFrE
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Thanks for sharing this program! It checked almost all my boxes: opera overture, followed by a slow movement with piano (soundhound told me it's the Haffner Symphony...why is there piano?), and a final movement to finish. I agree their music cut wasn't bad.

skfan said:
I prefer it to the Usova/Zhulin program you linked previously. Perhaps because that particular Mozart piece, so unrelentingly minor key, is a bit too repetitive for me? Even though I like symphonies 25 and 40 and Requiem and Piano Concertos 20 and 24 and all the plaintive mourning from his operas. Cosi fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro... So much beautiful music to choose from, as you said.
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Personally I think there's something about all three movements of Piano Concerto No.20 - the alternatively somber and tempestuous first movement, the intoxicatingly delicate second movement, and the unstoppable rush to conclusion of the third movement - that could work very well for a three-sectioned program with similar structure :)

shine said:
Now I think about it, perhaps pure piano/piano concertos (especially parts with simpler orchestration) tend to lend themselves easily to modern/interpretive choreography, whereas operas, because of their thematic nature, would probably remain classical in interpretation and could easily look dated if not done well.
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I second this! I think operas by their narrative nature appeal to concretely defined emotions: joy, rage, loneliness, love, which leaves little room for the audience's imagination, whereas keyboard works or some of the simpler symphonies are driven purely through the development of music and therefore more malleable to different interpretations through abstract choreography. A good example is the 2nd movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No.23, which is set to a highly sensual and romantic pas de deux in Le Parc, but portrays a more antagonistic relationship with more geometric choreographic language in Petite Mort. Back to the topic about Nathan, I do hope they give him a program that doesn't just take classical music at face value - elegance, gracefulness, etc - but tries harder to incorporate more modern moves that he's been proved to excel at. (And please, just a simple, form-fitting, flowing shirt as costume, nothing pompous or inappropriately minimalistic :palmf:).

I actually linked Shawn's program in one of the earlier posts 😛 It was what made me think Requiem could make a compelling opening. But the later music transitions are so jarring that I consider it more a cautionary tale than a exemplary demo, as shine also pointed out.
 
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LutzDance said:
Personally I think there's something about all three movements of Piano Concerto No.20 - the alternatively somber and tempestuous first movement, the intoxicatingly delicate second movement, and the unstoppable rush to conclusion of the third movement - that could work very well for a three-sectioned program with similar structure :)
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I would love this. Piano concerto no. 24 would also be wonderful.


LutzDance said:
I second this! I think operas by their narrative nature appeal to concretely defined emotions: joy, rage, loneliness, love, which leaves little room for the audience's imagination, whereas keyboard works or some of the simpler symphonies are driven purely through the development of music and therefore more malleable to different interpretations through abstract choreography. A good example is the 2nd movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No.23, which is set to a highly sensual and romantic pas de deux in Le Parc, but portrays a more antagonistic relationship with more geometric choreographic language in Petite Mort. Back to the topic about Nathan, I do hope they give him a program that doesn't just take classical music at face value - elegance, gracefulness, etc - but tries harder to incorporate more modern moves that he's been proved to excel at. (And please, just a simple, form-fitting, flowing shirt as costume, nothing pompous or inappropriately minimalistic :palmf:).
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I was reluctant to concede this, because there is so much beautiful music in Mozart operas that aren't necessarily about primal emotions. I'm thinking of Soave sil il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, esp., but I guess that would fit under 'loneliness' in your view. I do think there is some leeway even in opera music, esp. if it's an orchestral non-vocal version, so the skater need not literally follow the libretto. But yes, music without a plot is more malleable to different interpretations.

I too hope for a blend of what is classical grace and modern. Nemesis is very elegant and graceful to me, esp. the way he first performed it in Sun Valley, and yet it had such freedom and energy and passion... just wonderful... but I don't want to believe that only in that program, with that music, can he achieve the same sublime combination of classic and modern. Philip Glass at Worlds was almost as wonderful, but not quite. I blame the quads, lol.

As for the costume, it's enough to make an atheist come to :pray: Yes, please, a simple form-fitting flowing shirt that doesn't swallow up his neck and accentuate any hunching (because who wouldn't feel tense, with all those quads and this season's pressure), and please, Vera, can we see his beautiful hands? :bow::bow:
 
skfan said:
I was reluctant to concede this, because there is so much beautiful music in Mozart operas that aren't necessarily about primal emotions. I'm thinking of Soave sil il vento from Cosi fan Tutte, esp., but I guess that would fit under 'loneliness' in your view. I do think there is some leeway even in opera music, esp. if it's an orchestral non-vocal version, so the skater need not literally follow the libretto. But yes, music without a plot is more malleable to different interpretations.
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Good point, I guess in my mind a non-vocal legato-filled opera passage falls into the other category (ie with symphonies). Alternatively, certain non- theatrically oriented orchestral/keyboard works could also have similarly concrete emotional connotations as operas, such as the Turkish March - it’s basically dictating the listeners to march with it. Generally speaking this type of music leaves less room for choreographers’ creativity than the other, at least that of the abstract/interpretive kind.
 
skfan said:
I thought K/N music cut was not so bad, but then my standards aren't very high. From 1992 Olympics people seem to mostly talk about M/D's Liebestraum. K/N only get discussed as possibly robbed of bronze in Albertville. No one anointed their FS a masterpiece, far as I recall. I liked K&N's SP better than their FS that season. U/Z are masters of dance more so than K/N were masters of pairs IMHO, so of course they sold it better. I just preferred other U/Z programs, whereas Mozart was closer to the peak of K/N for me, maybe? Sorry off topic :slink:

As for all this being a pipe dream because he's not skating to Mozart... Dreams are dreams because they have nothing to do with reality, said an anime character, so why should we be fettered by the reality of a gazillion quads and judging and what not? ;)
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I don’t know, to me it’s almost an example of how not to skate to Mozart, kinda like how not to *play* Mozart: with all the Classical period regularity and structured pleasantness but really lacking in soul and character, and the reason why some people mistaken Mozart’s simplicity for boringness. ;) As for music cuts, I thought the transition away from Symphony 25 was quite jarring.
 
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Nathan was a guest on comedian Maz Jobrani's podcast. You may remember that he, Mariah, and the Brezinas attended a show by his co-host comedian Tehran. Full episodes drops on Tuesday.

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It's great how he's become such a leader and role model for the other Team Raf skaters. But I had to roll my eyes when he introduced himself like, "Oh, I competed at Worlds, Nationals, Olympics" as if were no big deal. Dude, it's ok to say you're World Champion. :rolleye:
 
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skfan said:
Thank you all for the updates and discussions. Thank you bonita for the kind words. It’s nice to know I can always catch up on everything just by reading this thread. Good to see Nathan thriving and doing good in the world as always. :)
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Welcome back, skfan. Now the Olympic season officially starts in this FF with you, heyheyhey and oatmella back.

Javi’s reaction to Nathan’s worlds performances
5. His biggest reaction was to Nathan. He was laughing after his free, completely amazed, and said that he retired at the right time. He kept saying he is incredible.
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Surya Bonaly liked Yuki’s Panasonic post. She also follows Nathan.

 
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